Learn Italian: Buonasera, dottoressa.

Buonasera, dottoressa.

Good evening, doctor.

Breakdown of Buonasera, dottoressa.

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Questions & Answers about Buonasera, dottoressa.

When exactly do I start saying buonasera instead of buongiorno?

It actually varies by region in Italy! In some places, people switch to buonasera right after lunch (around 1:00 or 2:00 PM). In others, they wait until the late afternoon. A safe rule for beginners is to start using it around 4:00 PM.

Why does the word for doctor end in "-essa" here?

In Italian, job titles change depending on the gender of the person. Dottore is a male doctor, and dottoressa is a female doctor. The -essa ending is a common way to make masculine titles feminine.

Does dottoressa only mean a medical doctor?

Not necessarily! In Italy, the titles dottore and dottoressa are used as a polite sign of respect for anyone who holds a university degree. You will often hear it used in formal business settings.

I learned to say la dottoressa for "the doctor". Why is there no la in this sentence?

When you are speaking directly to a person to greet them, you drop the word for "the" (il or la). You only use la dottoressa when you are talking about her to someone else.